The present invention relates to a display device and, more particularly, to a display device with hidden air vents.
With rapid and developments of thin film transistor manufacturing technology, and the advantages of slim and light, and power saving and radiation-free, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices have been widely used in various electronic products, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), notebook computers, digital cameras, video cameras, mobile phones, and the like. In addition, continuous R and D funding has been invested in this field, and large scale production facilities have been adopted, quality of LCD devices improves continuously and prices are falling down constantly. All the above factors further expand its applications. Nowadays consumers demand bigger screens, smaller size, lighter weight, and longer operation time. However, the bigger screen consumes more power, and longer operating results in greater heat accumulation. Meanwhile the slim and light requirements on the physical condition tend to cause the electronic elements packed inside the device malfunction at the high temperature. Therefore, air vents are usually provided on the surface of the display devices to channel heated air to the ambience through convection to achieve heat dissipation effect.
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG 1 is for a conventional LCD device. The LCD device 10 includes a front panel 11 and a back panel 12. The front panel 11 has a liquid display area 13 for displaying image information. The back panel 12 has a plurality of air vents 14. In the interior of the LCD device 10, there are various types of electronic elements and IC circuits (not shown in the drawing). The front panel 11 has a first edge 15 to couple with a second edge 16 of the back panel 12 to form the product.
Referring to FIG. 2, the second edge 16 of the back panel 12 has a flange 17 to couple tightly with the bottom of the first edge 15 of the front panel 11. An ornamental groove 18 is formed between the first edge 15 and the second edge 16. As the front panel 11 and the back panel 12 are coupled tightly, heat generated inside the LCD device 10 is difficult to disperse. In order to overcome this problem, conventional LCD devices often have air vents 14 formed on the surface of the LCD device 10 to facilitate air convection to discharge heat. But the air vents 14 spoil the appearance of the LCD device 10 whether they are formed on the front panel 11 or the back panel 12. Moreover, as heat dissipation effect depends on the total area of the air vents 14, a great number of air vents 14 have to be made to increase the heat dissipation effect. This results in increased molding and manufacture costs. It also traps more external dusts and dirt into the LCD device 10 and impacts the useful life of the product.
Hence, to make the display with heat dissipation effect is one of the hot pursued issues among the LCD device producers.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a display device with hidden air vents. The heat dissipating air vents are located and hidden inside the ornamental groove to make the display device more appealing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a display device with hidden air vents to improve the heat dissipating efficiency.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a display device with hidden air vents to simplify manufacturing processes and reduce fabrication costs.
A further object of the invention is to provide a display device with hidden air vents to prevent external dusts from directly entering into the device to increase useful life of the product.
According to this invention, the display device with hidden air vents includes a main body and a casing. The main body includes a heat generating source which consists of electronic elements contained in the main body. The casing is coupled with the main body and includes a first wall and a second wall. The first wall and the second wall correspond to each other and are coupled tightly. The first wall has a plurality of support ribs located on the surface thereof matching a flange formed on a second edge of the second wall. The flange is in contact with the support ribs. The second edge of the second wall and the surface of the first wall form a gap of a selected width therebetween.
In one embodiment of the invention, the gap has a first opening and a second opening. The first opening forms an ornamental groove while the second opening forms a hidden air vent.
In one embodiment, the main body is a LCD device located on the display area which may be on the first wall or the second wall for displaying image information.